It has been quite a while since we visited the locks at Iroquois. Iroquois is one of the Lost Villages which were flooded when the hydro electric dams were installed in the St. Lawrence River in the 1950's. The village was moved a couple of km north at that time.
When I googled the village, it doesn't even have a Wikipedia page. There are around 1000 people living in Iroquois and everyone we met was friendly.
After we viewed the lock schedule, a gentleman drove up to us in his pickup truck and turned off the motor. He made sure we'd heard of every sight to see in Iroquois.
We'd already seen a couple of photographers with very large lenses near the west end of the lock. Where there are long lenses, there have to be birds. This osprey nest is position so that you can look across at it, rather than up. Looks like the birds were also watching for the next boat.
The photographers were Julio Benitez and Marie-Josée Hamel from Gatineau in Quebec. They had a wonderful love story to share. You need to know that when photographers see something that excites them, they can lose time easily. Anyone who travels with a photographer has to be OK with hanging around while they get that perfect shot.
They met while photographing outdoors. He said to her, "Will you wait for me?" She said, "Yes." She then asked, "Will you wait for me?" and, he replied, "Yes." They have been waiting for each other ever since. Here is a link to their website.
After finishing our chat with Julio and Marie-Josée, we found a nice walking trail along the beach which that friendly man at the beginning told us about. There were some lovely reflections to be seen along the waterfront.
The weather is much nicer than it was yesterday. No more ominous clouds.
This is our last day together and I think we are all a little sad that it is coming to an end, but on the other hand, a little tired and ready for our own beds.
Back at the lock, the young osprey were waking from their nap. Earlier, a parent had dropped off a nice tasty fish breakfast. Now they were all looking westward. Maybe they heard the Federal Caribou coming.
It is so interesting how quiet such a large boat is when cruising through a lock.
The osprey must be very used to marine traffic. They didn't flinch when the hulking ship passed by them.
We had an hour or so between ships, and ice cream was calling to us. Don't you love people who choose their ice cream so it won't show when they spill it?
The second Federal ship was right on time. It's value is 30.8 million $ and was built three years ago. Marine Traffic.com told us that it was on its way to Montreal.
I love the sense of scale in the image below.
We waved to the workers and they waved back. Really, they did!
We were wondering what the red and white vertically striped flag meant. Well, here's what I found: it means that a pilot is on board. The ship is being piloted through the locks.
As it glided quietly eastward.....
..... the osprey looked at us, wondering if they'd now have peace and quiet.
Yes.
Time to say goodbye to Iroquois and camping along the St. Lawrence.
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